Cousins
by rather be insane
Summary: What happens when an American transfers to Hogwarts? And what is the Dark secret in her past? Features H/? and some R/Hr. R&R!! Chapter 3 uploaded!!!
1. Amber

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry potter, although I do own Amber. If I did own Harry Potter, I would be filthy rich right now and this would be published. So please don't sue me!  
  
A/N: OK peoples, please R&R. If I get seven reviews, I will post the next chapter (which is being written right now!). Okay, on with the show! Oh, and + means a flashback.  
  
  
  
1 Cousins  
  
Chapter 1: Amber  
  
1.1  
  
1.2 Well, here it is, the Hogwarts Express.' Amber Weasley (A/N: you'll find out later) thought as she stared at the train in awe. She had wanted to go to Hogwarts for the three years that she had known she was a witch. Amber had gone to a three-year wizardry school in the United States, it was in Maine, where she was from (she lived right outside of Boston). Although it was only three years, people started when they were twelve, not eleven and it was very advanced so they learned all that the Hogwarts students learned in their first four years. Because of this, Amber was going into her fifth year. 'I hope that there are enough chances to cause trouble here!' Unknown to her, she had inherited the same gene that her cousins Fred and George had inherited for wreaking havoc.  
  
She boarded the train. All the cabins were full except for one at the back. She opened the door walked in.  
  
"Hi, I'm Amber. Can I sit in here? All the other cabins are full."  
  
"Sure!" 'Well, seeing as she is already in here, and she is also an American (judging from her accent), and Americans are known for their temper, so why not? Thought Hermione. "I'm Hermione Granger. Are you new?" Said a girl that was about five inches shorter than Amber (Amber, like most of the others in her family, was incredibly tall for, 5'10" to be exact)  
  
"Yes, I am. I came from a three-year school in America. I'm going to be a fifth year here because my school was advanced or something." Replied Amber.  
  
"Hi, I'm Ron Weasley." Said a boy that looked very much like Amber, except for their eyes, Ambers were brown unlike Ron's blue ones. 'Maybe I should mess with ol' Ronnie's head, just 'forget' to tell him that my last name is the same as his and, oh, that I'm his cousin. After all, he won't remember me, the last time we saw each other was when we were, like three.' Thought Amber with a smirk and a glimmer in her eye.  
  
"And I'm Harry Potter. Nice to meet you." Said a boy with very messy black hair green eyes, and a very thin lightning bolt shaped scar on his forehead. Amber's eyes flicked to his scar and her hand shot to her forehead, remembering how she got her own.  
  
"Hi." Amber said, "Sick (in the cool kind of way) scar."  
  
"Yours is 'rad' too."  
  
"No, Kayla!" (A/N: She is not insane! Keep on reading to find out what she means) She whispered. A scene came to her mind as clear as it was yesterday.  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
"Everyone off of the bus! Everyone off!" Her band director was yelling. There was no electricity. It had been cut off when the bus had started to roll over. Amber checked her watch. 4:30 AM Eastern time. They were somewhere in Nova Scotia, so it would be 5:30 AM here. The sun was just rising. She was looking around as she exited the bus, looking for her best friend, calling her name. "Kayla! Kayla! Can you hear me? KAYLA!" Once she got outside, she sat down with some of her other friends, sobbing. Her head dropped to her hands. She felt something sticky on her face. There was a long gash running vertically down her forehead, sticky from her own blood. "KAYLA!" She screamed in one last attempt to find her friend before she blacked out.  
  
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++  
  
Amber snapped out of the day-mare (ok, she was daydreaming, but it wasn't exactly nice) because she knew what would happen and couldn't bear to live through it again. She sat down quickly, knowing she would faint if she didn't. She quickly wiped away a tear and blinked furiously so she would not start crying.  
  
"Is something wrong, Amber? You whispered someone's name and then started staring into space." Asked Hermione.  
  
"No, no, I was just recalling how I got this scar." Came Amber's response.  
  
"Not by someone trying to curse you, right?" Asked Ron, with a glare from Harry.  
  
"No, something much worse." She dropped her head into her hands and covered her eyes with her left hand again. Because of this, she did not notice the quizzical look Harry was giving her.  
  
The train came to a sudden stop. Hermione and Amber, who were sitting on one side of the cabin, flew across the cabin and right into Ron and Harry. Hermione landed in Harry's lap and Amber in Ron's. 'Oh great, just what I need, I fall into my cousins lap and he doesn't know we're related.'  
  
"Well, well, well. What do we have in here? Our ickle Ronnikins and, what is this an American?" Said Fred Weasley as he and his twin brother George walked into the cabin.  
  
"Hi, I'm Amber." Was all Amber said in response to this.  
  
"Soon to be Mrs. Amber Weasley." Amber heard George whisper to Ron. With that, Amber started rolling around on the floor and was cracking up. She simply couldn't keep control. 'If only they knew, oh if only they knew.' As she noticed the odd stares she was getting, and Ron's hurt gaze (he didn't understand why a girl would reject him publicly after only knowing him for an hour or two), she began to regain herself.  
  
"Sorry, and don't take it personally, Ron. It's just that, oh well, I'll just let you find that out for yourself tomorrow."  
  
"Amber, I presume?" Said and old man with long silver hair, a long silver beard, and half moon spectacles. Professor Dumbledore.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Come with me, you too, Miss Granger."  
  
So Amber and Hermione followed Professor Dumbledore to his office where he gestured for them to sit down.  
  
"Because you are older then the first years, we thought you might be a little embarrassed to be sorted with them. You will be sorted here and then Hermione will show you how to get to the great hall." So Amber sat down while Dumbledore put the sorting hat on head. It was so big on her that it fell to just beneath her eyes.  
  
"Hmm. Weasley, right? Very mischievous, just like your cousins Fred and George. Brave at heart, must be, to have gone through what you've gone through. Well, I really don't have any choice on this one, I mean your whole family is in. GRYFFINDOR!"  
  
"Well, no surprise there." Dumbledore said as he smiled at Amber who grinned back, "Your cousins should take care of you, after all, I believe you have every class with one of them."  
  
"Is there something going on that I don't know about? I mean, who are your cousins anyway?" Hermione asked as they walked to the great hall.  
  
"Um, well, yea. I'm okay, you're not going to believe this, I'm Ron's cousin."  
  
"NO WAY!"  
  
"Yea, Amber Weasley."  
  
"That is HYSTERICAL! I can't wait to see the look on his face when he finds out!"  
  
"Don't tell him, though. I want him to find out tomorrow, first class, when they take attendance. Now THAT would be FUNNY!"  
  
"I guess that explains the whole 'Mrs. Amber Weasley' thing on the train" was the last thing Hermione said before they entered the great hall and sat down next to Harry, Ginny, and Ron. The sorting was just ending when they got there, and Dumbledore was in the middle of his announcements.  
  
"I'm in Gryffindor!" Amber whispered excitedly to Harry, Ginny, and Ron.  
  
"Let the feast begin!" Said Dumbledore at the end of his announcements and food magically appeared on the golden platters before them.  
  
  
  
A/N: Okay, so end chapter one. How did Amber get her scar? And what is the dark secret in her past? Review (remember at least seven) so I will put up the next chapter. 


	2. Hogwarts

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry potter, although I do own Amber and Andy. If I did own Harry Potter, I would be filthy rich right now and this would be published. So please don't sue me!  
  
A/N: OK, I know I said that I would post after seven reviews but I was getting bored of waiting around to post this after I had written it and I thought that I shouldn't ask for a certain number of reviews but just for you to review because then you wouldn't feel obligated to review if you really didn't want to. Also, things in [brackets] are thoughts.  
  
P.S.: Blonde Duck, you totally read my mind! I was going to wait until a later chapter to let them get to know each other more, though.  
  
1 Cousins  
  
Chapter two: Hogwarts  
  
"AMBER, WAKE UP!" Yelled Hermione for the fifth time, unsuccessfully. "Fine, if that's the way you want it." She said, picking up a pillow and whacking Amber on the head.  
  
"Wait, mommy, five more minutes." Said Amber half asleep.  
  
"No, you can wake up now, thank you very much!" Hermione replied hitting Amber one last time.  
  
"Okay, okay, I'm up! Now at least let me get dressed in peace, or will you be hitting me with your pillow then too?" Asked Amber as she dragged herself out of bed and got dressed. After that she went to her dresser, pulled out a jewelry box, and tried to decide which lip ring to wear for the day. "What do you think Hermione? Gold or silver?" She said holding out the two for Hermione to see.  
  
"Silver. Definitely."  
  
"Okay." She said as she put on the lip ring and chose a diamond stud for her nose.  
  
They made their way down to the common room where they met Harry and Ron. "What happened to your lip Amber?" Ron asked.  
  
"It's called a piercing, you git."  
  
"Oh." Replied Ron as they sat down to eat.  
  
As they were heading to their first class of the day (Transfiguration), they heard a voice behind them.  
  
"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Potty, mud-blood, Weasel, and, my, my you look very delicious today." He said turning to Amber for the last part.  
  
"Don't listen to him, he's just an awful Slytherin who has no right to be here." Harry whispered into Amber's ear.  
  
"Especially if I have anything to do with it." She whispered back. "Well, you must be Draco Malfoy. I will give you only one warning. You mess with my family and you mess with me, and believe me when I say this, I've got a great right hook, so don't mess."  
  
"Suit yourself, I'll just pick on theses prats. So, Weasel, get kicked out of your house yet? Not enough money to pay for it?" At this Ron lunged forward to punch Malfoy, but someone else got there first. Suddenly Malfoy was on the ground, his nose bleeding.  
  
"I gave you a warning, dirt, but you ignored it. You mess with my family, you mess with me. Nobody messes with Amber Weasley. Maybe you will take that into consideration next time you are prepared to dis the Weasley name. I came all the way from America for what, this? I think not. Come on guys, we need to get to class." Amber said coolly as she turned on her heel and walked off.  
  
A/N: After the last scene I kinda ran out of ideas, so this is right before Halloween.  
  
"If I may have your attention please, I have an important announcement to make." Dumbledore said at dinner a week before Halloween, "This year, on Halloween night, we will be having a ball for the 5th, 6th, and 7th years. The dress will be formal, so please wear dress robes. That is all, have a good night."  
  
"So, Harry, who are you going to ask to the ball?" Ron asked as they were walking to the Divination classroom (Dumbledore was wrong, Amber had every class with Ron except for one, she took Arithmancy with Hermione instead of Divination.).  
  
"I was going to ask Amber today, after classes are over."  
  
"Well, at least it's better than you and Ginny." Said Ron.  
  
"Oh come off it Ron. She's the same age as both of us and she ALREADY has an older brother to look after her, plus you know how she can punch people to a pulp."  
  
"I guess you're right." Said Ron as they climbed up the ladder into the classroom behind the others.  
  
A/N: I hope you liked it. Please review! There will be more about Amber's past in later chapters.  
  
P.S. Blonde Duck, here's a start! 


	3. A Letter That Ruins Her Life Yet Again.....

A/N: OK I wrote this in French when we were learning countries which I already know and I was bored so I made up a new character his name is Andy and he is Amber's twin brother. He also has a scar on his forehead in the exact place where Amber's is.  
  
Cousins  
  
Chapter three: A Letter That Ruins Her Life Yet Again…  
  
"ANDY! GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW OR WE'LL BE LATE FOR PRACTICE!" Yelled Amber to her twin brother Andy. They had both been chosen as reserves for the quidditch team. They were both excellent chasers and beaters (they were good beaters thanks to playing little league for six years as kids), Amber was almost as good a seeker as Harry, and Andy was a great keeper. Ron had been made keeper because Wood had graduated at the end of the last year. Fred and George were the co-captains.  
  
"I'm coming! You don't have to yell so loudly! I think mom and dad could hear you back home!" Andy said as he came running down the stairs.  
  
"Whatever, Ron and Harry said they would meet us there because SOMEONE was running so late. I can't believe this! I'm going to be playing quidditch for the first time in 6 months! I wish it was snowing, though, I really miss snowboarding." Amber said as they walked out to the quidditch pitch.  
  
"Don't worry, we only have about three weeks left until it snows, I mean, it's already late October. Halloween is next week, do you think it's time to start our pranking career at Hogwarts?" Replied Andy.  
  
"Sure, we could unleash the dragons again." Amber said as they mounted their brooms and started to do the drills Fred and George were making them do.  
  
  
  
"Okay, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, we need to talk to you." Amber said as they entered the common room. "Urgent, but we should go somewhere else before we talk about it."  
  
"Okay, what is it?" Asked Fred as they entered the 5th year boys' dormitories.  
  
"Okay, so, Andy and I were thinking… At Quest, our old school, the week before Halloween was prank week. Everyone was encouraged by the 3rd years to pull as many pranks as they could." Amber started to explain and was interrupted by George.  
  
"Yeah, and?" George asked.  
  
"Well," Amber said with a gleam in her eye, "Andy and I took the pranks a little farther then we should've. At the end of the week, we didn't stop. We formed a club; well it was really a partnership. We called ourselves the dragons, I was Blue and Andy was Green. Every year we would kick off the year of pranks the night before Halloween. A little ritual we called 'unleashing the dragons'. We were famous at Quest. The only piece of information we ever let on about ourselves was that Blue was a girl and Green was a boy. Every boy in the school wanted to go out with Blue, and every girl with Green. We were wondering if you all wanted to join. I'm guessing Fred and George are already in." She was talking so fast that Fred and George couldn't hear her, all they knew was that it had something to do with pranks, and that was fine with them. "Hold on," she said as the owl she shared with Andy tapped at the window. "Oh my God." She said when she finished reading the letter, and fainted.  
  
Immediately, Andy ran over to her, pressed his palm against her forehead, and closed his eyes. He could feel his energy running through his hand into his sister's body. Slowly she opened her eyes. "Thanks, Andy." She said as the others just stared at them, very confused.  
  
"What happened?" Asked Andy. She handed him the letter.  
  
  
  
Dear Amber and Andy,  
  
We are so sorry to tell you this, but last night Voldemort attacked The Los Angeles School of Advanced Magic. Early this morning Professor Philips owled us with the news that Voldemort took the life of your good friend Kat. Remember, you can always owl us for anything.  
  
Love,  
  
Mom and Dad  
  
  
  
A/N: OK ppl, pleeeeze review! I'll try to get the next chapter up soon. Sorry I took so long in posting this, but I have a hard time getting ideas on2 paper. You'll find out what happened with the letter next chapter, and maybe it'll have the Halloween ball in it. 


	4. An Unexpected Visitor

Disclaimer: I never owned Harry Potter and never will (sighs). Everyone in this story belongs to the goddess J. K. Rowling except for Amber, Andy, Sean, Dan, and Kat (you'll find out who the last three are in this chapter).  
  
A/N: Ok, forget that there ever was a ball announced, k? It doesn't fit the story line right now (and Harry isn't going to ask Amber out yet 'cause there isn't a ball and it would mess up the story right now, k? Good).  
  
Cousins, chapter four: Alive?  
  
Amber woke up in the hospital wing next morning. Apparently Madam Pomphrey had given her some dreamless sleep potion. She was glad about that. She didn't want to even think about the letter that she had just gotten. She saw four people standing around her bed, looking at her, waiting for her to wake up.  
  
"Ambs! You're awake! What was in that letter that made you faint last night?" Andy asked when he noticed Amber open her eyes.  
  
"Shhh. What? Didn't you read the letter?" she asked and he shook his head. She motioned for him to lean closer and whispered something into his ear. His eyes widened.  
  
"WHAT?!? Did I hear that correctly?" She nodded, "How can Kat be dead? Sean wouldn't do that! I know him, he is my best friend, and he would not do that to Kat. She was like a sister to him." He was in a rage and Amber knew she couldn't stop him from screaming.  
  
"I know, I know. He wouldn't do that. But nobody will believe that but Professor Phillips, Professor Dumbledore, and us. We need to find him, and Dan." Just then Amber saw the confused looks on Harry, Ron, and Hermione's faces. "Andy, I think we need to explain it to them." Andy nodded and started talking.  
  
"Three years ago, we started our wizarding careers at Quest. I know what you are thinking, 'Aren't your parents both wizards?' yes they are but things are done differently in America. You live as muggles until your letter arrives so you can know what life is like around you. Well, we met three people there, and we instantly clicked. We all loved to pull pranks. At the end of October we formed the dragons. I was blue, Andy green, Kat gold, Sean maroon, and Dan black. We pulled pranks like there was no tomorrow." She smiled at the memory, but the smile quickly faded and she went on. "In our second year Kat told us she had a secret. She told us towards the end of the year. Kat is a seer. She can predict the future, to some extent; I guess that's why she was so good at Divination. Well, you know how Hogwarts is the safest place on earth because the only wizard Voldemort is afraid of is Dumbledore? Well the only witch he is afraid of is the Headmistress of Quest, Professor Phillips. Kat was safe for the years that we were there, and so were Andy and I, but I'll get to that later. At the end of last year we found out what school we got accepted to, one person to each seven year school, except for Andy and me-of course! Well, Kat didn't get to come to Hogwarts so Professor Phillips said she would have to go into hiding to protect herself and a tutor who was also in hiding with her could teach her. So she hid. She had to choose a secret keeper, and chose one of our best friends, Sean. I know that she chose Sean but I also suspect she switched at the last moment to Dan." Hermione gasped as she put two and two together and realized that this story seemed exactly alike another.  
  
"Do- do you know about…"  
  
"Sirius Black? Of course." Andy finished Hermione's sentence for her.  
  
"You know…" Harry began.  
  
"We know he's innocent. We've known for years." Amber finished Harry's sentence for him.  
  
"How?" Asked Ron.  
  
"Long story, we'll tell you later." Said Andy.  
  
"Okay, back to the story. So apparently Dan confronted Sean in front of a street full of muggles, then Sean blew up Dan in front of them. I have many doubts in that story. One, because Sean would not do that, he is firmly opposed to the dark side and I know it, and he wouldn't kill two of his best friends in two days." Amber said all of this in a very calm, steady voice. She rarely lost her temper, or even raised her voice, but when she was mad you could tell. Her voice sounded like ice when she was mad, but there wasn't a hint of that when she talked about Sean, only when she was talking about Dan. "I have no idea where any of them are, there was no body found at Kat's school (she was hiding at school). Sean is on the run, probably, and Dan is… Well no one knows where Dan is. Madam Pomphrey, can I leave now? I think I can survive on my own." Amber finished as she saw Madam Pomphrey come back into the room.  
  
"Oh… Well I guess so. Just take care. I do not want to see you again tomorrow." Amber didn't respond to this, she just jumped out of the bed she was in with a smile on her face and dragged everyone out of the room with her.  
  
~*~ (The next day)  
  
"Hi peoples!" Amber said perkily (is that a word?) as she came back from Quidditch practice with Ron, Harry, and Andy. They all flopped down into some chairs. Everyone smiled, except for Harry, who tried to put on a fake smile but Amber could see right through it. "Harry, I can see right through that smile. Now wipe it off and be sad or happy. Don't pretend."  
  
"What? I'm perfectly happy. Everyone else thinks so." They were carrying on the conversation as if they were the only ones there.  
  
"Yes, well, no one else here wore that fake smile for a year, now did they? " After saying that she got up, turned and went to her dormitory. Hermione heard say under her breath, "I hope there's someone out there who can bring me back to you."  
  
"Does she usually quote muggle music like that?" Asked Hermione, who was of course acquainted with muggle music.  
  
"Actually I think quoting music is her odd way of flirting, although I really don't know, she's only done that twice before. She has odd mood swings sometimes." That just brought a snort from Ginny, who had been listening to the conversation.  
  
"If that's how she flirts, how many boyfriends has she had." Ginny asked, trying to suppress laughter.  
  
"Well, Ginny, let me ask you one question. Have you ever watched your best friends die? No, I didn't think so. Well, if that's the case, I suggest shutting your trap right now before I make you wish you were never born."  
  
"Why the hell are you threatening my little sister?" Ron shouted at Andy, who kept his cool.  
  
"Let me ask you the same question, Ron. Have you ever watched your friends die?" Asked Andy, this time the question was directed at Ron.  
  
"Erm… No, but Harry was pretty close to dead a couple times." Ron replied.  
  
"Yes, he was, but he wasn't dead was he? He didn't sacrifice himself for you, did he? You didn't see him die right in front of you, did you? DID YOU? You didn't try to make your best friends move before they died, did you? Your best friends didn't die before your eyes. But mine and Amber's did. Oh, and by the way Ginny, two. She's had two boyfriends. But, one is dead and another is in jail for a crime he didn't commit. So shut up." Andy was about to go crazy. He couldn't stand repeating his past to other people.  
  
"Well at least someone in this God damned world believes me." A voice behind Andy said. Andy spun around. Suddenly Amber came running down the stairs.  
  
"Andy! You'll never believe this!" Amber said, waiving a piece of paper in the air. "We're-" But skidded to a stop when she saw who Andy was staring at.  
  
A/N: Ok, that's that chapter. I'm working on the next chapter right now. Maybe instead of a Halloween Ball there will be a Yule Ball. I'll try to post the next chapter tomorrow. Thanx to all of my FIVE reviewers!  
  
~A*W 


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